Snap lock attached bag handle



Aug. 1, 1967 J. MACK 3,333,308

SNAP LOCK ATTACHED BAG HANDLE Filed April 8, 1966 United States Patent 3,333,308 SNAP LOCK ATTACHED BAG HANDLE Joseph Mack, Huntington, N .Y. (595 Madison Ave, New York, N.Y. 10022) Filed Apr. 8, 1966, 501'. No. 541,298 1 Claim. (Cl. 24245) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE It is an object of this invention to provide a two-piece snap lock for removably securing a film of material therebetween.

It is another object to provide a novel handle for shopping bags made from relatively thin plastic film.

It is another object to provide a shopping bag handle that may be interchangeably used on variously designed or decorated film bags.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent upon reading the following descriptive disclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shopping bag showing a pair of handles disposed on a plastic film bag,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged section view, broken away in part, and showing the manner of locking the plastic film into the handles,

FIG. 3 is a side view of a handle,

FIG. 4 is an exploded section view of the plastic handle, showing the two elements constituting the handle and the details of construction therein, and

FIG. 5 shows a front view of a modified handle having continuous co-acting locking edges.

The conventional shopping bag has a handle permanently secured thereto. When the bag becomes worn it is thrown away, handle and all.

According to this invention, movable from the bag by mere finger pushing pressure.

The handle of this invention is also easily secured to a plastic film, as for example, of a shopping bag, by mere application of finger pressure to snap the locking bar into place.

Thus the handle of this invention is interchangeable at the users will with a variety of plastic film bags of separate and various colors and designs.

And when the film bag is torn or worn it alone is thrown away. Thus the handle is re-useable substantially forever.

Preferably the plastic handle is made of flexible plastic material such as polyethylene.

The bag of plastic film may be and preferably is also made of polyethylene film of a suitable thinness.

The handles themselves may be of various colors and of different configuration than that shown in the drawing by way of an illustrative embodiment.

Turning to the drawing, a plastic film bag 10, preferably made of polyethylene film, is provided with a pair of snap-lock handles 11.

The 'bag is a separate and interchangeable element. It is of conventional shopping bag size or dimensions. The bag 10 may be made from a single sheet of folded film, heat sealed along its two sides at seam lines 10X. However, the bag 10 may be made from a pair of film the handle is easily re- 3,333,308 Patented Aug. 1, 1967 sheets of like rectangular size, heat sealed along the bottom as well as along the opposed sides.

Where a pair of separate film sheets are used to form the heat sealed bag 10, the sheets may be different colors and/ or of different decorative designs thereon.

As shown in FIG. 4 the handle consists of two pieces namely the apertured handle portion 12 and the bar portion 13 adapted to snap-lock into a co-acting locking aperture of the handle portion.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the handle 11 is of molded plastic substantially rectangular construction and is provided with a suitably curved hand receiving aperture 14 and also with a locking aperture 15 of unique construction.

' The aperture 15 is preferably of a longitudinal rectangular construction having fiat end walls 16. The top and bottom walls of the aperture 15 are each provided with olf-set substantially centrally disposed angular walls 17, each disposed in the same or converging direction.

The presence of the converging angular walls 17 in both the top and bottom linear walls of aperture 15, provides a pair of wall openings of aperture 15 of ditferent height although of like length. Thus the inner opening (FIGS. 2 and 4) in the handle formed by the pair of horizontal walls 18 and end walls 16 (FIGS. 2.and 4) is of greater area than the outer opening formed by the pair of horizontal walls 19 and the end walls 16.

A critical feature of this invention is the provision of a snap-lock bar 13 adapted to lockingly engage walls 19 of the top and bottom walls of aperture 15 of the handle portion 12.

As shown in cross section in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the bar 13 is of rectangular construction and is provided with channels in its top and bottom linear walls. The dimensions of bar 13 are such as to snugly fit into the aperture 15 when engaging a film of the bag 10 therebetween (FIG. 2).

The channel bottom horizontal walls 20 of the channeled top and bottom walls of bar 13 are adapted to snugly engage the corresponding aperture walls 19 with a film 10 disposed therebetween.

The bar 13 is also provided in each of its top and bottom channeled walls with an inwardly sloping angular wall 21 of an angle and dimension corresponding to coactingangular walls 17 of the aperture 15.

The channels of the top and bottom bar 13 walls are further provided with an exterior sloping flange or rim wall 22.

As shown in the drawing the thickness: of the bar 13 is greater than the thickness of the handle 12 so that the bar rim 22 protrudes beyond the surface of handle portion 12 when in locked position (FIG. 2). Bar 13 is of uniform length and slightly less than the length of its locking aperture 15 and is provided with an inner side wall 23 of greater area than that of the exterior side wall 24.

In the operation of locking a plastic film sheet within the handle 11, the film near the mouth of bag 10 is disposed upon the small area wall 24 of the bar 13 and the film and bar are then inserted through the large area opening 18X of the aperture 15 and rim 22 with the film thereon pushed through the small area opening 19X.

The height of the outer bar Wall 24 (FIG. 4) is slightly larger than the height of the outer opening 19X of the handle portion 12.

However, since the plastic of both the handle portion and the rim 22 is flexible, the larger area of wall 24 and the film 10 thereon is relatively easily pushed through the smaller area opening 19X of said handle portion so that both walls 19 are disposed in the respective channels of bar 13 (FIG. 3).

Accordingly, the film is pushed without tearing through aperture to lockingly engage its wall surfaces, so that a heavy load in bag 10 can not disengage bar 13 from its locked condition.

As shown in FIG. 2, film 10 in locked position engages all the wall areas of bar 13 except that of the exposed rectangular area 23. It is to be noted that film 10 in locked position protrudes above and below wall 19 because of the greater height of wall 24 relative to that of opening 19X.

Accordingly, the film 10 is immovably and captively held in place in the handle portion 12 under heavy loads in the bag 10.

In effect the film 10 is wedged captively by bar 13 in handle portion 12 so that it can not be displaced by a downwardly directed force applied to the film bag wall (FIG. 2). However, by applying suitable inward lateral finger pressure on the bar (FIG. 2), one can relatively easily push the bar and the film thereon out of the handle portion 12.

As shown in FIG. 5 the locking aperture can be made oval or otherwise with a continuous locking edge to receive a corresponding oval bar 25 with a co-acting edge.

Accordingly, the snap lock of this invention consists of a body portion having a suitable aperture with suitable continuous or separate locking edges and a removably secured bar portion having edges which co-act in locking relationship with the corresponding edges of the body portion.

The uses of the snap lock are many and include use as buttons on plastic rainwear wherein the bar is made in the configuration of a button. Where the apertured body portion is anchored or fixed to a wall or floor, one can secure a film thereto by use of the bar portion.

This invention has been described by means of an illustration showing a substantially rectangular handle having a rectangular aperture therein but clearly it is not to be limited to this particular configuration of the handle nor to the particular aperture therein.

I claim:

A handle engageable member having means thereon adapting same to be detachably secured to an edge of a flexible member to enable the member to be suspended in a suitable fashion, said means comprising an elongated aperture extending through a portion of the device and a locking member formed so as to snappingly fit within the aperture and dimensioned so as to snugly retain a portion of the flexible member therein, said locking member having upper and lower surfaces of slightly larger and smaller relative dimensions forming flanges and having a channeled edge extending therebetween, substantially therearound, and joined thereto by tapered surfaces, said aperture having a recessed portion adapted to substantially completely receive the larger flange therein and a tapered portion which merges therewith and is dimensioned so as to snappingly engage the smaller flange and be received within the said channeled edge when the members are assembled together.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,330,769 2/ 1920 Smith 24248 1,867,499 7/1932 Crow 24-170 3,177,550 4/ 1965 Borgeson 24--245 FOREIGN PATENTS 530,123 7/1954 Belgium.

932,484 10/1955 Germany.

622,863 5/1949 Great Britain.

160,738 6/1933 Switzerland.

OTHER REFERENCES M 18,945, 5/1956, Germany (printed application) (Mabel).

WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

DONALD A. GRIFFIN, Examiner. 

